Wednesday, November 08, 2017

Over at Power Line is a post about a proposal within the proposed GOP tax tweak that oddly has big fans of big taxes in a huff. John Hinderaker ably argues that the plan does not "screw Democratic voters," so much as ends a red state "subsidy" for a blue state tax break. (Isn't it funny to hear a Republican speaking like a leftist here?) Then he goes on to speak about another proposed tweak:

Merely having different people shaken down for slightly different amounts is ... uninspiring. (Image courtesy of Pixabay.)

As for the mortgage interest deduction, it is odd to see liberals objecting to tax policies that hurt "the rich." Blue urban areas of course have higher housing costs than other areas of the country. They also have, on average, larger incomes, which are necessary to defray the higher cost of living. Democrats have never hesitated to gouge higher-income Americans, regardless of where they live. The Republican Party, with a newly populist edge under the leadership of President Trump, is only following where the Democrats have led. It is a little late for them to complain about harsh treatment of "the rich" in the tax code.

Maybe so, but it is disappointing to see the party of "small government" do this, but then again, since said party speaks of size rather than scope, this is not so surprising.

Were the GOP genuinely interested in improving the economy, it wouldn't be indulging in such petty pressure group warfare skirmishes, but asking how to give everyone a break from taxation, and the onerous government spending and control that perpetuate it.

I hear even that this tax bill is on thin ice. No surprise there: The same people who also never askWhy isn't every day a "tax holiday"? aren't going to put up much of a fight. A lack of convictions -- as we see daily from Republicans, except when it comes to forcing people to behave like Christians -- results in a lack of a big vision and a failure to fight even for crumbs such as this, assuming this tax "cut" even rises to that level of merit.